Level Design
Page created by Andrew McGonigal 1401109 Shopping Mall District There will be much to investigate here, as the kids can talk to many people and many objects can be picked up and investigated. The player must be careful not to make too much a ruckus as not to attract the attention of Mall Cops. Architecturally there are will be many wooden and glass banisters which will prevent the players falling of the higher floors of the mall. Much of the floor will be covered with white tiles as is typical of shopping malls with some walkways having a red carpet. The lighting here will be the usual white and yellowish light generated from bulbs. There is a grand fountain in the centre of the malls 1st floor along with many elevators. The player can use the elevators to access floors much like a fast travel. Residential District The area in which we find the homes of our small protagonists along with many of their schoolmates. Due to the high population of young children in the area, you can often find tree houses and makeshift “soccer fields” using orange cones as goals. There is a baseball field less than a ten-minute walk away where the local school often plays at. This district is the typical American cul-de-sac that you would see in the movies, filled with the American spirit and dream. Lake District Only a short drive away from the town centre, it has become a popular location for family barbeques and picnics. Because of the lake is relatively far from home via walking and would require walking along a main road, the kids are banned from going to the lake district without parental (or adult) supervision, whether or not the kids listen to their parents is a different story entirely. The lake side will be made up of lots of grassy plains, using a lot of green to simulate an environmentally healthy area. The player will walk through the fields towards the hotel and caves. The hotel is filled with many rooms that the player can explore. The hotel rooms have much of the commodities that the player would find in the time era, black and white boxy TX with a huge antenna, rotary dial phones and obnoxiously brightly coloured furniture. Players can only access some rooms via breaking certain barricades, via climbing trees and entering a window or stealing the keys and unlocking the doors. Industrial District Filled with factories and lumber mills, the industrial district is where most of the town’s men work. The kids are also banned from going there due to heavy machinery and dangerous tools. The industrial district is the lifeline of the town as it is how most of the money flows into the pockets of the population, without this the town would probably become a ghost town. In this district the player must be careful not bring any harm to the kids by walking on any horribly misplaced tools or by powering on the machinery. This area will be filled with many items that the player can collect and use later throughout the game if the player wishes to take the risk of getting them. The area will be full of both in use and abandoned factories. The area will be bleak and smog ridden with most building being made of orange brick that have slowly darkened due to the pollution, a lot grey and concrete will be found. The machinery in the area will be almost like metal monsters to the kids with many of the machines rusted beyond repair. Burnt Forest District Directly behind the industrial district was once part of the huge forest that surrounded the district, however due to an accident - that may or may not have been caused by the local companies working out the district – much of the forest was burned down. The area is now devoid with life and filled with ash, lots of black and empty space will be in this district with the occasional charred tree stump left behind. These tree stumps may contain clues that the player can further investigate or items that the player can collect. This area will use the dark empty space to convey that the area no longer contains any life. School District As expected this this district contains a small but adequate school for the size of the town. The kids – as kids often do – loath going to school. However, they often find break time to be fun as they interact with other kids. The school grounds have many swings and other toys such as merry-go-rounds that the player can interact with. The school will also have a few yellow busses as is traditional of the US that the players can board as a fast travel to and from home or many other locations if they choose to sneak on a bus heading to a different location. One yellow bus may also contain secrets. In line with the fashion of the time the classrooms floors will be covered in red carpet and each student will have their own heavily graffitied individual desks with a book shelf built in that the player may be able to find clues in. The walls will mainly be wooden and covered in work done by kids. The window blinds will be made of cheep white plastic. A wooden paddle can be found in many classrooms as kids were often hit if they misbehaved as this practice continued for many years after the games setting.